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Dust to Dust
I am writing this reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent readings with ashes on my forehead. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return," the priest said when he pressed a dirty cross onto my forehead. There was something about returning to dust that wouldn't leave me alone this year. There was this feeling, "Return to dust!? Well, not until I complete my plans!" I want to do big things, like leave a legacy like Abraham: in my descendants "all the nations of the earth shall find blessing" (Gn 22:18). I want to witness big things, like a dazzling transfigured Jesus before my eyes.
All my needs for big things, St. Paul seems to say in the second reading, are misplaced. I will find a legacy in my little acts of kindness. I will see the transfiguration in sunlight shining on the dew. God is for us and with us, and that is the heart of everything. The Son of God was given for us-will God not also give us everything else along with him? All we could ask for our lives is already here.
Yet there is something more. St. Paul says, "It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?" (Rom 8:33-34) Who will condemn? We as a society will, and in a vicious way. One thing still haunts me about these ashes. I can live with being dust, with the fact that God made me out of debris from the earth. But I cannot stand by when we grind God's children into dust. There are systems in society that crush human beings in order to make a profit. The largest for-profit prison company in the US, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), successfully lobbied states to lock up more people and increase their sentences over the past decade and saw their annual revenue double. In December 2009, at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC, Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce met with CCA lobbyists. The bill they drafted became, almost word for word, the famous Arizona Senate Bill 1070. It would have made law enforcement lock up people who looked like immigrants who could not produce documentation when stopped. The bill was introduced four months after that meeting and signed into law. Over the next six months campaign contributions were sent from private prison companies and their lobbyists to 30 of the 36 co-sponsors of the bill.
I hope you will visit FAN's new webpage, Money in Politics: In God We Trust, and take action to prevent people from getting ground into dust to make a profit.
Lonnie Ellis
FAN Director of Organizing and Development
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Faith in the Cross vs. Faith in the Dollar Sign
 This Lent, FAN reflects on how the Sunday readings speak to us in the context of concern for the influence of money in politics. In addition to the Lectionary reflection above, each week features an image from a collage by Br. Jeffrey Wilson, TOR.
The second portion of Br. Jeff's collage focuses on a city of the largest buildings in the world which "represent unhealthy progress and development...fueled by pride, consumerism, and the belief that bigger/more is better." These buildings comprise a contemporary Tower of Babel.
Instead, Benedict XVI explains, "Openness to life is at the center of true development."
READ MORE of Br. Jeff's explanation on FAN's blog.
Find these and other Lenten resources, such as a Care for Creation calendar, on FAN's Lent 2012 webpage.
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THIS WEEK, join FAN for:
"Leaping into Public View: Training in Media Strategy"
 Leap Day! Wed., Feb. 29, 4-5 p.m. Eastern Time
Register online
FAN hosts John Gehring for this training on engaging the news media, using upcoming FAN press events on money in politics as the test case. John will examine important topics such as messaging, communicating with reporters and writing press releases.
John Gehring serves as Senior Writer and Catholic Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life in Washington, D.C. He previously worked for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.
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If you missed FAN's webinar on:
"Understanding Compassion: A 50-State Immigration Initiative,"
you can view and listen to the recording online.
The slides which Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF, who oversees FAN's immigration work, and Kent Ferris, OFS who supervises the Immigration Office for the Diocese of Davenport, shared are also available online.
The webinar featured a clickable map highlighting state and local immigration initiatives across the country from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). CLINIC will host a webinar to train users of the policy map, March 1, 2-3 pm EST. Contact Karen Lucas at klucas@cliniclegal.org.
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Is THIS the Fast I Seek?: Economy, Livelihood and Our National Priorities
 Every year, Franciscans join a diverse group of Christians for Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC. This year's conference (March 23-26) addresses economic justice in U.S. federal budget priorities.
Join FAN staff, Action Commissioners, and other members for the 10th anniversary of EAD.
If you plan to attend, please contact Patrick (pcarolan@franciscanaction.org) so that we can coordinate a Franciscan gathering during the program.
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Calling Scholars for "A Catholic Consultation on Environmental Justice and Climate Change"
A scholars' conference sponsored by the USCCB, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, the Catholic University of America, and CUA's Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies will take place at CUA November 8-10, 2012. The conference will explore the implications of recent papal teaching - particularly that of Pope Benedict XVI - on environmental justice, creation and solidarity. Scholars from across academic disciplines (especially from theology, religious studies, philosophy, and economics, as well as public health, history, biology and other sciences) are encouraged to submit paper proposals.
Paper proposals are due on March 15, 2012. Learn more in this Call for Papers.
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Creation, Humanity and Science in the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition
Br. Bill Short OFM, Mary Beth Ingham CSJ, and Keith Warner OFM
July 29-Aug. 12, 2012
Old Mission Santa Barbara, California
See FAN website for more information.
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O God, who have commanded us
to listen to your beloved Son,
be pleased, we pray,
to nourish us inwardly by your word,
that, with spiritual sight made pure,
we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Prayer for the Second Sunday in Lent)
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Mission Statement
Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, and the example of saints Francis and Clare, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) is a collective Franciscan voice seeking to transform U.S. public policy related to peacemaking, care for creation, poverty, and human rights. |
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